Editing Reagan Doctrine (section)

===Advocates within the Reagan administration===
Within the Reagan administration, the doctrine was quickly embraced by nearly all of Reagan's top national security and foreign policy officials, including [[United States Secretary of Defense|Defense Secretary]] [[Caspar Weinberger]], [[List of ambassadors of the United States to the United Nations|UN Ambassador]] [[Jeane Kirkpatrick]], and a series of National Security Advisors appointed by Reagan including [[John Poindexter]], [[Frank Carlucci]], and [[Colin Powell]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Chang | first = Felix | title = Reagan Turns One Hundred: Foreign Policy Lessons | journal = The National Interest | date = February 11, 2011 | url = http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/ronnie-turns-one-hundred-4829 | access-date = January 12, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120128111431/http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/ronnie-turns-one-hundred-4829 | archive-date = January 28, 2012 | url-status = live }}</ref>

Reagan himself was a vocal proponent of the policy. Seeking to expand congressional support for the doctrine in his 1985 State of the Union Address in February 1985, Reagan said: "We must not break faith with those who are risking their lives ... on every continent, from Afghanistan to Nicaragua ... to defy Soviet aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth. Support for freedom fighters is self-defense".

As part of his effort to gain congressional support for the Nicaraguan Contras, Reagan labeled the Contras "the moral equivalent of our [[Founding Fathers of the United States|founding fathers]]", which was controversial because the Contras had shown disregard for [[human rights]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishworldreview.com/jeff/jacoby111403.asp|title=Jeff Jacoby|work=jewishworldreview.com|access-date=2006-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930155820/http://www.jewishworldreview.com/jeff/jacoby111403.asp|archive-date=2007-09-30|url-status=live}}</ref> There also were allegations that some members of the Contra leadership were involved in [[cocaine]] trafficking.<ref>[http://prorev.com/blum.htm "The Contras and Cocaine"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120722140043/http://prorev.com/blum.htm |date=2012-07-22 }}, ''Progressive Review,'' testimony to U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Hearing on the Allegations of CIA Ties to Nicaraguan Contra Rebels and Crack Cocaine in American Cities, October 23, 1996.</ref>

Reagan and other conservative advocates of the Reagan Doctrine advocates also argued that the doctrine served U.S. foreign policy and strategic objectives and was a moral imperative against the Soviet Union, which Reagan, his advisers, and supporters labeled an "[[Evil Empire speech|evil empire]]".